Tempe Trip: The Drive & Phoenix

Hey everyone!

The drive to Tempe wasn't that bad... about 6.5 hours. Indio (near Coachella) is close to halfway, and most of the freeway on the Arizona side has a 75 mph speed limit!

We drove through east LA county at first (not too far from where the nuclear bomb detonated this season on 24). Here we are, entering San Fernando Valley:


Then, as we approached Palm Springs we came across the energy-producing windmills. There are tons of these...


Sunday was our first full day in Arizona, and we spent the morning/early afternoon driving around Phoenix. As I've mentioned before, they are building a light rail system through central Phoenix, and once it's up and running it will really improve the area.

At one point we stopped at Lux Coffeebar and it was great! Definitely where the hipsters go! They had an outside covered patio that sprayed mist to cool you off! We met a very nice young family that gave me great advice about moving to the area and places to avoid. People are really nice here. I can't stress it enough. I can't tell you how many people I just meet offer up their contact info to help me if I have questions. It's awesome.

So, the places we were seeing were listed on Craigslist, and as you know, those ads can be misleading. The most promising place had a cockroach in the kitchen. Thank god both Sami and I have a poker face!

One place was especially pathetic (and we had a good laugh about it after). The ad described a "cozy cottage" in a courtyard with long-term, "quiet" neighbors who "added security and stability" to the location. This property had three small 1-bedroom cottages on it. My sister summed it up thusly: "The guy in the front unit looks like a skinhead, the guy in the back looks like a meth head. There will be an episode of Cops there." We regreted the fact that I didn't have the guts to take pictures while we were there. I wanted to so bad. The picnic table covered in old stuffed animals was especially photogenic.

Today should be more fruitful for apartment hunting. I'm meeting with some companies who offer free apartment locating (they make money from the apartment complexes and help screen/place reliable tenants). Plus, tonight we're heading to Scottsdale for shopping, dining and movie watching. Yay!

Here are some pics of yards in Tempe. Most don't have grass so they use rocks and succulents (sometimes successfuly) to decorate their yard:





PS: It's hot. It got up to 110 yesterday. It stays that way until late in the day. But honestly, it's only bad if you stand out in the direct sun for too long, and there are so many ways to avoid doing that. The best invention ever (aside from air conditioning) is the screen you can put on your car's dashboard to block the sun. We also have a small cooler for the car that we keep filled with cold water, so we've been very good about hydrating!

xoxoxo